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Criminal Prohibition of Flag Display: Serious Blow to Freedom of Protest

>> Click here to read the full Policy Paper

This policy paper addresses the proposed amendment to the Penal Code submitted by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi, which seeks to institute a criminal prohibition on the display of flags of enemy states and of the Palestinian Authority by state-funded institutions.

Under this bill, such displays would constitute an illegal assembly, punishable by imprisonment and a minimum fine of NIS 10,000. The bill purports to draw a “red line” between legitimate expressions of protest and those “intended to disturb the peace,” but in practice constitutes a severe violation of the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and protest and the use of legislation for political and ideological suppression.

Zulat believes that enforcement of the ban in state-funded institutions would be an unprecedented assault on Israeli academia. This legislation would force universities and colleges to act as “enforcement agents” of the state, would stifle freedom of expression on campuses, and would undermine their status as centers of critical thinking and dialogue.

Already now, a ban on the display of flags is contained in Article 82 of the Police Ordinance, an archaic relic from the British Mandate era that was regrettably incorporated into Israeli law, which was originally meant to restrict the freedom of expression and protest of the Jewish Yishuv in pre-state Israel and to suppress anti-Mandate assemblies and demonstrations by means of administrative measures, similar to the then-laws in other British colonial territories.

Zulat not only opposes this bill but also advocates for the complete repeal of the ban on the display of flags currently contained in Israeli law, which constitutes a severe infringement on freedom of expression, freedom of protest, and Israel‘s democratic character.

Furthermore, the proposed new law deepens civil inequality in the country and violates human rights, given that it is designed to silence political dissent and label certain population groups as illegitimate. It did not arise in a vacuum but joins a series of legislative initiatives introduced by the far right under cover of the ongoing war and the pretext of combating terrorism, aimed at inciting and persecuting one-fifth of Israel’s citizens who belong to the Arab minority.

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Dr. Maha Sabbah Karkabi

 

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Tel Aviv University (2015), a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London (2015-2016), a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Sociology at Tel Aviv University (2016-2017), and a postdoctoral fellowship Ph.D. at the Humphrey Institute for Social Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (2018-2020).
Dr. Maha Karbahi’s areas of interest focus on the connection between social change, family behavior, and gender inequality in societies in the process of change and specifically in Palestinian Arab society in Israel. Her research draws attention to the study of family life and employment, using a combined “ethnic lens” and “gender lens” and paying attention to the perspective of Palestinian Arab women, a group characterized by intersections between multiple marginal locations, which over the years has remained hidden from the research eye. Dr. Karkabi-Sabah’s research is published in professional journals and chapters in scientific books that are considered pioneers in family research, work, and gender equality.

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Prof. Frances Raday

Professor Emeritus in the Lieberman Chair in Labor Law, in the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and serves as a full professor in the College of Management’s academic track, where she also serves as chair of the graduate program and as honorary president of the Concord Center for International Law Absorption. Radai was a member of a working group of the UN Human Rights Council on discrimination against women. In addition, she is a prominent and feminist human rights activist.

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Dr. Rawia Aburabia 

Faculty member of Sapir Academic College’s School of Law, received her PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research deals with the interface between law, gender, minorities, and human rights. Has published in leading journals on the subject of the matrimonial laws pertaining to Muslim women in Israel. Her book Under the Law, Outside Justice: Polygamy, Gendered Citizenship, and Colonialism in Israeli Law is expected to be published as part of the Gender Series of Kibbutz Meuhad Publishing House.

Dr. Aburabia has extensive experience in international human rights and public law. She has worked as a jurist for the Association for Civil Right and has been invited as a specialist to address such international forums as the United Nations and the European Parliament on the subject of indigenous communities and minority rights. She has interned with Human Rights Watch in Washington DC, and has been a member of the executive board of Amnesty International. In 2018, she was selected by the magazine Globes as one of the 40 most promising young persons in Israel under the age of 40.

 

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Ron Kessler

With over two decades of experience in the field of digital content, Ron has participated in numerous political and social campaigns. He helped run the digital activity of senior public officials, and worked in various NGOs. Ron is a fundamentally optimistic man, who believes that Israel can be changed and so can people. Lives in Tel Aviv.